


Mystery on Lasan

by rebel_wren



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst, Babies, Brother-Sister Relationships, Domestic Fluff, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Husbands, Investigations, Lasats (Star Wars), M/M, Mystery, Pre-Siege of Lasan (Star Wars), Rescue, Rescue Missions, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29120118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebel_wren/pseuds/rebel_wren
Summary: A story delving into Zeb's life on Lasan before the Imperial invasion. We meet Zeb's family, and the royal family that he serves as Captain of the Honor Guard. The royal family calls on Zeb for a secret operation- can Zeb pull it off?
Relationships: Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios & Hera Syndulla, Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios & Original Character(s), Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios/Original Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Zeb doesn't get as much love as he deserves, so here's a Zeb-centric fic for your soul. This is probably the fic I've written with the most original characters (the fun of writing Lasan is how much free reign we get with it), so it's pretty exciting for me to get to flex that part of my writing brain. Also, forgive some of the character names. Coming up with Star Wars names is kinda hard, okay?

Someone rapped on Zeb’s door twice.

“Come in,” he said gruffly.

He was curled up on his bed, facing the wall, so he didn’t see who entered when the door slid open. He heard footsteps, though, and whoever it was didn’t smell human. Had to be Hera.

“It’s late,” Zeb said. “Need something?”

The mattress depressed under some weight by Zeb’s feet as Hera sat down.

“Just wanted to check in on you,” she said.

Zeb frowned and rolled over, sitting up as much as he could without hitting his head.

“Why?”

Hera tilted her head a little as she spoke, absentmindedly smoothing the sheets.

“You just seemed bothered today,” Hera said. “I was worried about you.”

“Oh,” Zeb mumbled.

Hera was onto him. Zeb  _ had _ been upset- today was the anniversary of the Imperial invasion of Lasan.

Invasion was too nice of a word. It was a  _ genocide _ . And Zeb still remembered it. It haunted him every day, but that anniversary… well, it really snuck up on him. He always tried to make himself think of the happier memories he had on Lasan: his family, friends, the beauty of the planet. But in some ways that was just as painful, knowing he’d never get to see them again.

“I’m fine,” Zeb said.

He could tell that Hera didn’t believe him for a second.

“Talk to me, Zeb,” she said softly, but still with some of her usual firmness. “We’re a family.”

Zeb swallowed hard.

“You… you don’t wanna hear all… all my stuff.”

“If I didn’t,” Hera said plainly. “I wouldn’t be here.”

Zeb sighed.


	2. Chapter One

Zeb pushed the button to open the door with his elbow, as his arms were full of groceries. Most of the walls were painted shades of olive green, and the walls were mostly covered in prints of family. He stepped on dark okcha-wood floors, and most of their furniture was simple in design and beige in color. Zeb didn’t care much for fancy designs, so this all worked well for him.

Peering over the top of the biggest bag as he came in, Zeb could see his husband smiling, standing with his arms folded. Zeb rolled his eyes as he walked in the hall. His home was a typical, modest Lasan home.

“Gonna just stand there, or help me out?”

“Probably just stand here, now that you mention it,” his husband answered.

“Aw, come on, Ly,” Zeb said, earning him a laugh. Zeb pushed past him and dropped the bags of groceries onto the beige marble counter, before turning around to Ly, who stood there with a grin.

“C’mere, you,” Zeb said, rushing forward. Ly laughed and tried to dodge him, but Zeb was faster. He quickly wrapped his arms around Ly, pulling him against him as they both were laughing. Ly stopped squirming after just a moment, and let Zeb hold him, which Zeb happily did, kissing the side of his face.

“Where’s Asha?” Zeb asked.

“Just put her down for a nap,” Ly said. He wriggled out of Zeb’s arms, and Zeb released his hold on him so Ly could step back and look at them.

“I missed her again?” Zeb said, deflated. He’d gotten promoted to captain around his daughter’s first birthday, and he didn’t get to see her as much as he liked anymore.

“She’ll be up by dinner,” Ly reassured him.

“Yeah,” Zeb mumbled.

“Hey,” Ly reached up with one hand to cup Zeb’s face. “I tell her all the time how much you love her, and how you’re only away more now because you’re protecting all of us. She still loves you, darling. Talks about you all the time when you’re not home. Er, well- not really _ talks _ , but you know what I mean.”

Zeb’s lips formed a small smile.

“I miss her,” he admitted.

“I know,” Ly said. “And she misses you two. But you’re off after tomorrow, we’ll all have all day together. And, your family is coming tonight, so-”

“Karabast,” Zeb said, louder than he should have.

“Hey,” Ly scolded jokingly. “Don’t wake her, especially not with that kind of language.”

“Right,” Zeb muttered. “We gotta get started on dinner if we want it ready by the time they’re here.”

Ly smiled. “Let’s get started, then.”

He kissed him, and Zeb’s heart melted a little bit, just like the first time all those years ago.

Soon everything was cooked, and Zeb and Ly were still still setting the table when the doorbell chimed. Zeb shared a look with Ly, who was still putting a big plate in front of each seat.

“Go let them in,” Ly said. “I’ll finish up here, it’ll just be a moment.”

Zeb nodded gratefully and went to the door. He pressed the button to open it up and he was sure it wasn’t even fully open when his mother rushed forward to squeeze him in a tight hug.

“Oh, my Zebby-bear!” Zeb’s mom cried, hugging him.

Zeb’s ears twitched and flattened against his head sheepishly.

“Ma…”

She gripped his arms and pulled back, smiling at him. “I haven’t seen you since before the promotion! How’s my little Captain handling his big new job?”

Zeb swore he heard Ly laughing from the dining room.

“It’s great, ma,” Zeb said. “Come on, everyone come in.”

Zeb’s father passed as Zeb ushered everyone in, as did Zeb’s grandmother. She was followed by Zeb’s little brothers- a set of triplets that they called Bit, Charr and Bathule. They were a fair bit younger than Zeb, none of them coming up above his shoulders quite yet. Personally, Zeb looked forward to the day when his brothers would grow up to be as tall as him and his father- or even as tall as his older sister, the only one that stood higher than Zeb or his dad..

And the only one who wasn’t here yet.

“Hey,” Zeb said as he followed his family into the dining room, where Ly was greeting them. “Nearra said she was coming, right?”

“Yeah,” Zeb’s father grunted. “She said she was running a little late. Something about her ship inspection going on too long.”

Zeb nodded. His older sister, Nearra, had left the Honor Guard a couple years back to become a racer pilot. Zeb always thought she was crazy- she was certainly one of the best in the Guard, to the point that Zeb was sure that she’d have taken Zeb’s recent promotion to captain if she’d stayed- but Nearra loved flying, and was doing pretty successfully in the Lasan races, and was on her way to qualifying for the intergalactic ones. Zeb was proud of her, for sure, even if he missed training by her side.

“I’m hungry,” Bit complained. His brothers agreed, and Ly chuckled.

“I’ll go get it,” Ly said. “Zeb, you should go get Asha up for dinner.”

Zeb smiled wide- he didn’t have to be told twice.

“Yes, bring me my granddaughter,” Zeb’s mother called as Zeb went back towards Asha’s room.

“My great-granddaughter,” his grandmother said. Zeb shook his head, and then slowly crept into Asha’s room, which was painted pastel yellow and had a big, white rug on the floor. She was asleep peacefully in her crib, clutching a tiny, green tooka doll in her hands. Zeb smiled and watched her for a moment, before gently reaching down to scoop her up.

Her big eyes fluttered open, and she looked up. When she saw Zeb’s face she giggled in a way that made Zeb just completely melt. She had soft tufts of purple fur, striped along her small arms and legs, and just the cutest little face that Zeb had ever seen. He bounced her a little bit.

“Hey, Asha,” he said quietly. “Time to wake up, alright kid?”

“Papa,” she said, followed by some babbling. He chuckled, continuing to bounce her in his arms. “Papa” was the only word she’d said yet, but it was the only one Zeb really needed to hear.

Zeb was a tough, cunning warrior, Captain of the Honor Guard- and his little girl totally weakened him beyond anything else.

“Come on,” Zeb said, shifting the way he was carrying her so she was at his side, letting him walk more comfortably. “Let’s go see the rest of the family, huh?”

Asha kept her grip on the little green tooka (they’d learned fairly early on not to fight her on it) as Zeb carried her out to his family. His parents and grandma both cooed over her as he brought her out, and Ly had a big smile on his face watching Zeb with her. His little brothers always acted more ambivalent towards her, but Zeb had seen all of them make faces at her in the past when they thought no one else could see.

Zeb’s mother quickly took Asha from his arms, leaving her food in front of her on the table, and took to bouncing Asha in her lap and sweet-talking her. Ly and Zeb shared a sweet glance, but before Zeb could say anything else, the doorbell rang again.

“That must be Nearra,” Zeb said, going to get it. He opened the door, and his older sister stood in the frame, clad in her brightly colored racing jacket. She smiled.

“Hey there, lil’ Zeb,” she said.

Zeb narrowed his eyes a little bit, as he always did when she called him that. There had been one lucky year in school when Zeb was taller than her, and he teased her mercilessly- unaware that she’d outgrow him quickly after that and would be willing to return the favor for  _ years _ .

“Hey, Nini,” he said, happy to bring out the one nickname he knew she hated.

“Always with the Nini,” Nearra said, playfully sticking out her tongue as she passed him. She waved at Ly in the dining room.

“Hey, Ly,” she said. “How have you been?”

Ly smiled. “Good! How’d your ship inspection go?”

“Good, until one of the Guard’s scout ships came in needing emergency repairs and they made me wait with my engine half put-together,” Nearra said.

“Well, we’re glad you could make it anyway,” Ly said. He took Asha from Zeb’s grandmother and placed her in her high-chair next to him, cutting up pieces of fried nerf for her dinner.

“Sit down, Nearra,” Zeb said, motioning towards one of the two empty seats at the table. “I’ll fix you a plate.”

She did, and Zeb followed to sit next to Asha’s highchair, so she was between her two fathers for dinner. He made some faces at her before digging into his own plate, keeping an eye on her as she carefully chewed on her nerf. 

“This is delicious,” Ly said. “Thank you, Zeb.”

“Hey, you helped too,” Zeb said with a smile.

“It is really good,” Zeb’s mother said proudly. “You learned from the best, didn’t you?”

“Of course, Ma.”

He saw Nearra roll her eyes out of the corner of his vision, but ignored her.

Once everyone had mostly finished (except for Charr, who was halfway through his second plate), Zeb’s father folded his arms.

“So, what’s it like being Captain of the Honor Guard?”

“Dad-”

“You’re protecting the whole planet, it’s gotta be exciting.”

“I can’t really say much,” Zeb shrugged. “Lasan isn’t exactly under a threat right now. Really it’s just been a lot of extra work so far.”

“The King isn’t worried about the Empire?” Nearra asked. Zeb shook his head.

“No, he says they won’t bother us. And he’d know better than I would,” Zeb admitted.

Nearra frowned, but didn’t press the issue. There was a moment of silence, when the only sounds were Asha quietly teething on her nerf and Charr slurping at his food.

“Who wants dessert? Ly asked. “Zeb picked up these great cookies from the new bakery in town, everyone will love them.”

Zeb smiled, watching gratefully as Ly went and grabbed the tin and started passing the cookies out to his family.

Zeb was really sure that he liked his life like this. And he didn’t need to change too much any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you've met Zeb's family!


	3. Chapter Two

Zeb stood at attention in the throne room, his bo-rifle perched on his back. The King and Queen of Lasan were in their thrones, both adorned in flowing green robes with gold trim, meeting with the circle of advisors. The golden crowns on their heads sparkled under the light. Their daughter- Princess Kalia- was sitting to the side of their mother, wearing similar robes to her parents but in a lighter shade of green, with silver trim. She was a little older than Zeb, closer to Nearra’s age, and she looked absolutely bored out of her mind. And Zeb didn’t blame her. With all this talk about intergalactic trading routes, the elders droning on about crop harvest numbers, he was pretty bored himself, though he was professional enough not to show it.

The meeting seemed to be winding down, some of the younger advisors already beginning to carefully pack up their things.

“Dearest,” the Queen said to the King. “Are we going to talk about the, uh… Imperial problem?”

“No,” the King said. “There is no problem, I’ve been handling those negotiations myself.”

Before the Queen could say anything else, the King dismissed the advisors, who all hesitantly left the throne chamber. The Queen just sighed. Zeb tried his best not to look in their direction- while he was allowed in the throne room, he just didn’t feel right eavesdropping on Lasan royalty.

“Some input could be helpful,” she said to her husband. “They’re our advisors, for a reason.”

“I don’t need advising about it,” the King said. “The answer is no, and I won’t budge. The Empire can go somewhere else- they’ll leave us alone once that officer is sick of bothering me.”

“I’ll be in my chambers, mother, father,” Princess Kalia said, clearly fed up with their bickering. “I’ll see you both for dinner.”

There was a moment of silence between the King and Queen as the Princess’ footsteps faded.

“I really think you should consider being more open with them,” the Queen said. “I’m worried about what they could do.”

“No,” the King said firmly. “I won’t compromise our integrity for a bit of metal, and if they try anything- well, we’ve got the finest warriors in the galaxy to protect us. Isn’t that right, Captain Orrelios?”

Zeb finally looked at the King, and shifted a little uncomfortably.

“Yes, your majesty.”

He could see the Queen roll her eyes.

“I see. I think I need to take a walk in the gardens to clear my head after that meeting- Captain Orrelios, I’d like you to accompany me.”

Zeb inclined his head, and followed behind her as she led him through the door out towards the palace’s gardens. Tall grasses grew up along the stone path, dotted with flowers and bushes of all different colors. He walked through the gardens with her quietly.

He was more relaxed with the Queen than with the King- before his promotion to Captain, he spent more time in her presence than the King’s. The Queen of Lasan had taken over all military duties once she came into power, after her parents had passed. She oversaw the training of the finest warriors selected by the leaders- including Zeb’s- and had handpicked Zeb for his promotion to Captain. 

“You’re smart, Captain Orrelios,” the Queen said.

Zeb blinked in surprise.

“Uh- thank you, your highness.”

“That’s why I picked you to lead- many of the others may have equal skill in combat, but it’s not often we find such skilled warriors with a mind as strong as yours.”

Zeb wasn’t sure what to say, especially when she stopped and turned around to face him. 

“So tell me,” she said. “What do you make of our dealings with the Empire?”

Zeb swallowed hard.

“Well… I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, to be honest.”

She smiled at him.

“Of course not. My husband doesn’t want to talk about it,” she said with a sigh. “I’m telling you this in confidence, Captain. Understand?”

Zeb nodded.

“The Empire wants to build mines on our planet,” she said. “But only in our sacred lands, as they’re the richest that Lasan has to offer. They’d destroy our holy grounds, and they want our people to work them. It’s insulting, but- well, I’ve heard the Empire can be cruel. I’ve told my husband to compromise- some of our mountains have ores, and we’d hardly notice mines in there- but he won’t budge at all. He says that they’ll give up, but… well, I’m afraid that without a compromise, they’ll simply take what they want.”

Zeb’s bo-rifle felt heavy on his back.

“We’d protect Lasan, your highness,” Zeb said. “That’s what the Honor Guard has trained for.”

“Of course,” the Queen said with a sad smile. “But I’d rather save our planet from any kind of war. So- what do you think, Captain? Should we compromise?”

The Queen looked at him earnestly- she was always quite kind, and cared about the people of Lasan. She really seemed to want to know what he thought.

Zeb had to think for a while. He honestly didn’t keep up with news from faraway planets like Nearra or Ly did, but he never liked what he had heard about the Empire. Lasan had always stayed fairly independent of galactic politics, even during the age of the Republic and the Clone Wars, but if the Empire was here… well, everything may change. And Zeb didn’t want that.

“If we don’t compromise,” Zeb started slowly. “You’re right. They may just take what they want, and not care about us. But if we do, and give them the mountains… well, what’s stopping them from taking more once they deplete those mines? They’d already be here, after all.”

The Queen nodded. “You make a good point, Captain. It’s an impossible situation- and with the galaxy going as it is, I’m afraid that easy solutions are a thing of the past.”

The Queen smiled.

“Thank you for talking with me, Captain,” she said. “I’d like to return inside, if you don’t mind accompanying me.”

Zeb followed her inside.

As much as it was an honor to be the Captain in charge of protecting Lasan, it was very stressful.


	4. Chapter Three

“Up! And down!”

Asha giggled in Zeb’s arms as he bounced her. He was laying on his back on the carpet, holding her up above him. She had her green tooka doll tucked under one arm, and it flailed around just as she did.

“Careful,” Ly said, watching from the couch with a smile on his face. 

“I am,” Zeb said, barely tearing his eyes away from his daughter. Right as he said that, the tooka doll slipped out of her grasp. She reached for it towards the floor, and Zeb sat up so he could sit her in his lap while he picked up the tooka and gave it back to her. He leaned his head down so he could press a kiss to the top of her little head. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ly slide off the couch and come across the floor to sit with them. Asha happily giggled as she was loved by both of her fathers, before crawling just a couple feet away to play.

Ly leaned over to kiss Zeb’s cheek, and then rested his head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re home today.”

Zeb nuzzled him.

“Me too.”

“You work too much.”

As if on some horrible cue, the wall comm started to beep in a way that Zeb recognized from his training. He frowned and looked to the wall, then looked to Ly.

“What chime is that for?” Ly asked.

Zeb shook his head. “It’s the royal emergency summon.”

“Karabast,” Ly muttered. “You should get it then.”

Zeb’s ears flattened, and he looked to Ashla, who was making sound effects for her ships. Ly put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey,” he said. “Go. We’ll be fine. This is your duty- I knew that when I married you.”

Zeb nodded hesitantly, and kissed Ly.

“I’ll be back soon,” Zeb promised, even though they both knew he had no control over that.

“I’m here, your majesty, your highness” Zeb said as he came quickly into the throne room, wearing his armor with his bo-rifle across his back. “What did you need me for?”

The King and Queen both sat mournfully in their thrones, though the princess’ seat was empty. No one else was in the room, with the exception of a few guards that stood nearby.

“Guards, you’re dismissed until Captain Orrelios leaves,” the Queen said, waving them off. The guards stepped out the door. Zeb frowned- even in talking about most private matters, they never dismissed guards from the throne room. What were they telling him that no one else could hear?

“I’m afraid I have bad news, Captain,” the Queen said once the doors shut. “The princess has gone missing.”

Zeb’s eyes widened.

“For now, we want to keep this private from the people of Lasan,” she continued. “We don’t need to start any kind of panic, or have people intrude- well-meaning as they may be. So, Captain, we are putting you in charge of the investigation.”

“Me?” Zeb said before he even realized it- stopping himself before further breaking decorum.

“Yes,” the Queen said. “You are relieved from your typical duties as Captain until this is solved and our daughter has been returned home safely. Your lieutenant will be filling in.”

Zeb nodded. “Yes, your highness. Do- do you have any leads on where I can begin the investigation?”

“Well as you know, we are currently having diplomatic conflict with the Empire-”

“It’s not the Empire,” the King snapped. “They’d be foolish to pull such a stunt. It has to be crime lords. Start there.”

The Queen locked eyes with Zeb, and gave a small nod. Zeb reciprocated- he knew what she meant.

_ Start with the Empire _ , he thought.  _ Great. _


	5. Chapter Four

Garazeb Orrelios was not a detective. Never wanted to be one before, and definitely didn’t want to be one now that he’d tried it out.

Why the Queen had chosen him to investigate her daughter’s abduction was beyond him. Sure, he was the Captain of the Honor Guard, but that training did not include a course on looking into the cases of kidnapped princesses. And it wasn’t like there weren’t detectives or investigators on Lasan that would have probably done a better job. Karabast, even the average Lasan citizen who watched those mystery holos that Ly loved would probably do better.

But Zeb, of course, found himself in over his head, and the only way to get out was with the rescue of a missing princess. Sitting in the palace library, he’d left home that morning doing his best not to let Ly know anything odd was going on, pretending that the summon he got yesterday was just a drill- it hurt him to to lie like that to his husband, but it was for the best.

Like the Queen had implied, Zeb looked into the Empire first. It was hard to really find information about them on the Holonet that wasn’t from the Empire themselves. He came across a few secret transmissions speaking out against them from different worlds, but nothing that had information that would help him find Princess Kalia. 

There was a small part of him that wondered if the King was right. Maybe it was some crime lords or a gang looking to make some ransom money off of the Lasan royals. The Empire kidnapping Kalia in the midst of their stalemate discussing mining operations… well, it almost seemed too easy. Truly, a galactic government couldn’t be that foolish, right?

He gave up on looking for data from the Holonet. He knew there was nothing he could find there that he didn’t already know. He groaned, getting more and more frustrated. He’d already interviewed every guard on duty that night- no one saw anything, that left him with no leads. And the King had been extremely resistant to letting Zeb into the palace’s bedroom suites. Not that Zeb blamed him- no member of the Honor Guard had ever been in those suites in the history of Lasan, only ever needing to guard the hallways. It would be a breach of not only privacy, but tradition.

However, Zeb was so sure that the key he needed was in the princess’ bedroom. And if the King wouldn’t let him…

Well, one of Lasan’s rulers wasn’t quite as orthodox.

Zeb called over one of the library guards.

“I need you to go to the training courtyard and tell the Queen I’d like a meeting with her,” Zeb said. “As soon as possible.”

“About what?”

“She’ll know.”

The guard nodded and quickly left the library. Zeb could tell the palace guards were on edge. Though only a few were aware of what had happened to Princess Kalia (she spent a lot of time in her quarters, so not seeing her around wasn’t unusual), every guard could tell that something was off in the palace- especially because they had increased security. And they still weren’t allowed to know- Zeb had to lie to the people he’d always prided himself in being a transparent leader to.

Detective work and lying. Two things that Zeb decided he was pretty sick of already.

The Queen met with Zeb in the gardens he’d walked her through only a few nights ago, when she’d explained to him the conflict with the Empire. 

“I need access to the princess’ quarters,” Zeb said. “I know it’s a break from tradition, but I’m lost. If I can know what happened there, that could be the key to solving this.”

The Queen sighed.

“Looking into the Empire hasn’t helped?”

He shook his head.

“No, your highness. Nothing on the Holonet was of any use. I want to find your daughter, and that may mean breaking some rules.”

Zeb knew if it was him, and Asha was the one missing, he’d be breaking every rule in the book to get her back if that’s what was needed. And he could tell that the Queen was the same way.

The Queen looked away from Zeb, over the garden’s balcony out towards the landscape of Lasan. The sun was high in the sky, bathing the beautiful fields and mountains in light.

“Very well, Captain Orrelios. But my husband can’t know about this. Follow me.”

Zeb followed her through to the halls of the palace, into the bedroom suites’ wing. He’d only been there once, on a tour when he’d first been accepted into the Honor Guard, and never happened to be stationed there during his rotation as a guard in the palace. Few did, as normally only two guards patrolled that hall- now, there were six.

The Queen quickly ushered him into the princess’s bedroom, and Zeb’s ears flattened at the sight- he could tell why the King and Queen weren’t eager to show him the room. While he could tell that it was usually beautiful, what he saw of it was trashed. Much of the furniture was knocked around, some of it broken and splintered. Drapes hung from the ceiling over the princess’ bed, and they were torn and shredded. Her window had a very large hole sliced in it- it was clear how the captors broke in.

“She put up a good fight,” the Queen said, a mix of pride and bitter sadness in her voice. Zeb sent her a sympathetic look, before looking back around the room.

Though the room was in a poor state, he wasn’t sure how much he could learn from it- he had to look closely. Like a real detective- one of the ones from a mystery holo that Ly had a crush on (which Zeb was never even a little jealous about, of course).

A scrap of lace was on the floor. Zeb frowned and knelt down to pick it up.

“That’s from one of her nightgowns,” the Queen said. “The lace goes all the way to the floor. It’s been one of her favorites ever since she grew into it.”

Zeb nodded, turning around so he could show the Queen the lace up close. “Yeah… look at this.”

There was a boot print on it. Zeb could now cross any Lasat off the list, since they didn’t wear shoes (especially not ones this small)- not that he had really considered anyone from Lasan in the first place- people were generally happy with and loyal to the King and Queen.

But what really intrigued Zeb was the color of the print- it was a dark, ashy blue.

“I’m sorry, Captain,” the Queen said- she was clearly upset, and Zeb didn’t blame her. “It’s a boot print. What do you want from that?”

The wheels in Zeb’s brain were turning as he thought.

“Well, for the boot- I’m sure all those Imps have to wear the same uniform. We could figure out if this is the print of one of those. But- look at the dirt, your highness.”

The Queen leaned in, and tilted her head.

“It’s… blue.”

Zeb nodded. “There’s no blue dirt on Lasan. We might be able to figure out where our kidnappers came from.”

She gasped.

“Lirapal.”

“The moon?”

“Yes,” she said. “It has blue earth… and the Imperial officer that’s been trying to deal with us showed an interest in it. I didn’t know why, but…”

“The Empire could be stationed there,” Zeb said.

“You think that’s where they’re holding Kalia?”

Zeb shrugged. “They might be.”

He couldn’t help but guiltily feel an internal joy. Maybe he wasn’t so bad at this detective stuff after all.

“You need to break in.”

Zeb blinked in surprise.

“Your highness-”

“That’s an order, Captain. I’ll do some research tonight, send a scout to the moon and see if they can locate any kind of ship or base. You’re to go there as soon as possible and rescue the princess. Discreetly.”

Zeb shook his head.

“Listen, your highness. I can’t do that alone.”

“Then bring someone. You can take your pick of the finest warriors in the Guard, of course.”

Zeb paused to think for a moment.

“Actually, I have someone else in mind.”

Thankfully, both Nearra and Ly were open to Zeb’s last-minute decision of inviting Nearra for dinner. Nearra was happy to see her brother, niece and friend, and Ly was always happy to talk to someone who actually kept with galactic politics, unlike his husband (though Zeb had become more updated, even if he couldn’t really say that). Zeb managed to stay pretty unsuspicious through the whole dinner, only pulling away once to read the Queen’s blasted transmission that the scouts did in fact find a secret base on Lirapal, attaching the coordinates.

After dinner, and once Asha was put to bed, the three adults were sitting in the living room, talking over some cider. Ly was usually one to go to bed rather early, but he was staying up late to talk. Normally, Zeb would’ve been thrilled to get to spend more time with his husband, but he  _ really _ needed to get Nearra alone. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late that Ly started yawning, and went to the bedroom after being gently urged by Zeb. As soon as he left, Zeb turned urgently to Nearra.

“I need your help.”

“Woah,” Nearra said, looking startled by his sudden change in tone. “What’s wrong?”

“You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”

Nearra frowned. “Of course… Zeb, is everything okay?”

Zeb sighed.

“Princess Kalia was kidnapped by the Empire.”

Nearra’s mouth dropped open.

“ _ What _ ?”

“I’m in charge of rescuing her. I believe she’s on a secret Imperial base on Lirapal. I’m going tomorrow morning- will you come with me?”

Nearra hesitated, sitting and thinking for a few moments. She sighed.

“Zeb,” she said. “You realize what you’re asking of me.”

“I do. Please, Nearra. I need you.”

Nearra nodded.

“I’ll go with you. We can take my ship.”

Zeb smiled, relieved. “Thank you, Nini.”

She didn’t snap back about the nickname like she normally did- she still just looked concerned.

“Does Ly know?”

Zeb shook his head.

“Not supposed to tell anyone.”

“He’s your  _ husband _ .”

“And he knows I have to keep things quiet. He never asks about these types of things- he knew that I had to keep these secrets when he married me.”

“Yeah, secrets about… guard shifts, and training schedules and palace security stuff,” Nearra said. “Not breaking into secret Imperial bases. He deserves to know if you’re putting yourself in danger like that.”

Zeb pursed his lips and sat quietly. She was right- his older sister was always right, even if he hated to admit it.

“Think about Asha,” Nearra continued.

Zeb nodded. “Yeah, I’ll tell him. See you tomorrow morning.”

“Of course,” she said with a smile. “It’ll be fun to serve with Captain Orrelios. See if you’ve gotten any better with that bo-rifle.”

Zeb rolled his eyes. He was one of the finest in the Guard at using his bo-rifle, and Nearra never let him forget she was the one that trained him with it first. He watched Nearra walk out the door, and then went to his bedroom. Ly was still awake, reading a novel on a datapad, and smiled when he walked in, though that smile faded once he saw the somber expression on Zeb’s face.

“Something wrong?”

Zeb nodded, sitting down on the bed, still in his clothes.

“I gotta tell you what I’m doing tomorrow.”

“Thought you weren’t allowed to,” Ly said, pushing himself up to slide over next to Zeb. He looked into Zeb’s eyes with nothing but tenderness, that made Zeb almost want to just call the Queen and tell her the whole thing was off, that he wanted to stay home and safe for his family.

“I’m not,” Zeb admitted. “But… you deserve to know.”

Ly frowned. “Zeb, what’s going on with you?”

He sighed.

“Princess was kidnapped by the Empire. They have this secret base on Lirapal- Nearra and I are rescuing her.”

He explained everything to Ly- way more than he needed to, but Ly listened, and it felt nice to just let everything out. To have someone to talk to about all the stress, all the pressure he was under. Ly was quiet through it all, nodding to indicate he was listening, and he took to gently stroking the ends of his large, Lasat fingers over the stripes on Zeb’s arm. Zeb trailed off as he finished, beginning to only be able to think of how in love he was, how grateful he was to have Ly as his husband.

“Thank you for telling me,” Ly said when he was done.

“So, uh... “ Zeb said. “You gonna tell me not to go?”

“Not unless you want me to,” Ly said. “This is your duty to our planet- and I know you’re passionate about it. And I want the princess to be safe, of course. As long as you come home too.”

Zeb smiled and took Zeb’s hand in his, feeling their fur brush against one another’s.

“I promise,” Zeb said. “I’ll come home. For you and Asha.”

Ly smiled, and kissed him. Zeb held him tight as they fell asleep in bed, being sure to savor every moment of it.


	6. Chapter Five

They’d woken up much earlier than usual, and Zeb had crammed himself into Nearra’s ship with her. It was technically a three-seater, but the pair of above-average height Lasats were not comfortable. And they still had to bring home the princess in the ship. Zeb was behind Nearra’s pilot’s seat in a pretty tight fit, and the other seat was behind him. He tried to move his leg once it started going numb, and groaned.

“Sorry,” Nearra said as she took them out towards Lirapal through the dark of space. “Never flew with someone else before.”

“It’s alright,” Zeb grumbled. 

While he was still dreading this rescue mission, he was looking forward to getting out of the ship and stretching his legs again. They flew towards Lasan’s moons- the planet had six, all fairly clustered together. They were all pretty barren, and the atmospheres were extremely thin and dry- as the Lasat had discovered years ago when they failed to use them for extra agriculture production.

Why the Empire had established themselves on Lirapal was beyond him. He worried there was a sinister answer- beyond just kidnapping a princess- that he didn’t think he wanted to be privy to.

He thought back to that morning. Ly hardly woke up before Zeb, but even though Zeb was waking up even earlier than usual, Ly was awake before he was. They’d shared a quiet moment together in Asha’s room before Zeb left to meet with Nearra.

_ “Please be safe,” Ly said in a low, desperate tone. _

_ Zeb looked to his baby, who slept peacefully in her crib. _

_ “I will,” Zeb said. “I promise. I love you, Ly.” _

_ “I love you too.” _

_ Zeb would never forget how Ly’s teary eyes looked in the light of Lasan’s moons through the nursery window, moons which were slowly being replaced in the sky by the morning sun. He remembered those same eyes looking at him on their wedding day, and he hoped they’d continue to look at him for many more days to come. He just had to get home from this mission. _

“Get the masks out,” Nearra said.

She was landing the ship on Lirapal, touching down on the blue-toned earth. Zeb reached uncomfortably for the compartment underneath his seat, where two breathing masks were stashed, which they’d need to breathe easily in the Lirapal atmosphere. He passed one to Nearra and fixed his own on his face, adjusting the strap tight around his head. Nearra popped the top of her racer open, and Zeb happily climbed out, pulling his bo-rifle out and slinging it across his back. Nearra snorted through her breathing mask when she saw it.

“If only I was allowed to keep mine,” she said, pulling her own regular rifle out of a compartment in the ship. It was in three pieces, which she took to sticking together. It wasn’t anything special on its own, like Zeb’s bo-rifle, but he could see that his sister had modified it so she could swing it around like one in close-quarters combat.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have left the Guard,” Zeb teased.

“Yeah right,  _ Captain _ . That life isn’t for me, and you know it.”

“You were good, though.”

“Of course I was. I’m good at a lot of things.”

Zeb laughed, and then took a look around the moon while she finished assembling her rifle. He frowned.

“Hey Nini, I don’t see any Imperial base… or anything.”

“Well I couldn’t just land on top of it,” she said, putting her rifle over her back and walking up to Zeb. “We’re a few klicks away. You alright taking a walk?”

“Of course,” Zeb said. “You know which way to go?

Nearra pulled a little holo-map device out of her pocket and clicked it on, showing a blue map. The map was largely plain since the moon was, but marked in a red circle was the coordinates of the base.

“Saw it when we were flying in,” Nearra said. “It doesn’t look that big, but we were pretty high up, so I’m not sure. You ready?”

“Always.”

Zeb followed Nearra towards the red circle on her holo-map, walking along the blue, ashy dirt of Lirapal, looking across the flatlands. They really were only a few klicks away, so it didn’t take very long for the Imperial base to begin to come into view. It looked like a big-durasteel dome in the center, with various durasteel tubes sticking out and connecting to smaller structures. Zeb chuckled.

“You know what that looks like?”

“What?”

“When the triplets had that little rodent thing,” he said. “Remember? And it’s cage had all that stuff in it, they said it was his house.”

Nearra laughed.

“Think they’ve got a big exercise wheel hidden in there?”

“Oh, I’m sure. They eat out of giant bowls too.”

Nearra laughed again as they continued along. Zeb didn’t see any guards standing outside the base which was good, but a bit odd.

“So how are we playing this, you think?” Nearra asked. Zeb paused to think for a few moments.

“Well,” he said. “First thing is we gotta get to a terminal and figure out where they’re keeping her. Then… we sneak.”

“Wow, the genius Captain Orrelios at work.”

“I’m not exactly working on a lot of information here.”

Nearra playfully pushed him.

“Just teasing. Come on, let’s get in there.”

Zeb and Nearra approached the base from the side, and managed to find a maintenance hatch- the problem was it was only accessible by the droids that worked it. Nearra had an idea- sit and wait for a droid to come out and sneak in before the door closed. So Zeb and Nearra were crouched down to the side, leaning on their rifles and waiting for who knows how long.

“Real brilliant idea Nini,” Zeb grumbled. He could barely make out her rolling her eyes under the breathing mask.

“You’re so grouchy today.”

“Can you think of a reason for that?”

She shushed him, her ears perking up as she leaned towards the door. Zeb paused to listen, and heard it too- the barely-audible hum of a droid hovering towards the door. They both readied themselves, Zeb eyeing the door. It split open and they both rushed to the door. The droid floated by, none the wiser, and they both breathed a sigh of relief when the door closed behind them. Zeb looked around- this looked like the maintenance wing of the building, filled with boxes of parts and tools, as well as two more maintenance droids, who started at him, startled.

Zeb pulled his bo-rifle off his back and flicked it into the staff configuration, charging at the droids. He caught them both in quick succession with the electrified ends of his staff, overcharging both droids. They clattered to the floor. Satisfied, Zeb turned his bo-rifle off and attached it back to his back.

“Show off,” Nearra said with a snort as she walked to the maintenance terminal.

“Hey, you’re the one who taught me that.”

Nearra looked at him, and though the lower part of her face was covered with the breathing mask he could see from her eyes that she smiled at him. She returned her gaze to the terminal, tapping on the console, going through the schematic layout of the base.

“Prisoners are in the Eastern Wing,” Nearra said.

“Do they have Princess Kalia?”

Nearra tapped some more, and then let out a relieved sigh.

“Yes. Unit four fifteen.”

“Let’s go then,” Zeb said. They snuck out of the maintenance wing, and continued to creep quietly through the halls. They were very lucky, narrowly missing patrols through the hallways of stormtroopers by squeezing themselves into nooks in the walls when they walked by. They kept moving as much as possible, but Zeb froze as they passed a particular office, when he heard an Imperial with a thick core-worlds accent mention Lasan.

“No word yet from the Lasat King?” he said. The man’s voice was cold, cruel and sharp

“No, sir,” another voice said- this voice sounded rather timid.

The first man sighed, but it was the angriest sigh that Zeb had ever heard.

“I don’t understand- does he even care about the girl?”

“Zeb,” Nearra hissed. “Keep moving.”

Zeb didn’t listen.

“I don’t know, sir,” the second voice said. “We can reach out-”

“No, no,” the first voice responded, exasperated. “Too suspicious. Eventually, they’ll cave. Announce the princess is missing, and then we offer to help ‘find’ her. That’ll get him working with us on those mines.”

Zeb scowled, and Nearra was wearing a pretty unpleasant expression too.

“Come on Zeb,” she whispered. “We’re almost there.”

Zeb finally got moving again, following her down the hall towards the prison block. They took a turn, and after narrowly avoiding some more stormtroopers, reached the prisoner block. Tired of being hunched over for so long, as soon as he was in the prisoner block he pulled his bo-rifle off of his back and stood up. Two stormtroopers standing guard both turned to him as he did.

“Hey-”

Zeb shot them both unceremoniously, and the armored bodied clattered to the floor. Zeb looked around- there were four hallways of prison cells, each marked with a number one through four.

“Four fifteen?” Zeb asked Nearra.

“Yeah,” she said, stretching her neck. “This way.”

He followed Nearra down one of the prison block halls. He eyed the numbers on the cells- there weren’t very many, and all were empty. This base was clearly new. 415 was the last one down the hallway, all the way at the end. Nearra opened the cell, and Princess Kalia was laying on a hard bench, facing the wall.

“Leave me alone,” she said. It sounded like she had been crying.

“Princess Kalia,” Nearra said gently. “We’re here to rescue you.”

Kalia sat up and looked at them, her face lighting up.

“Captain Orrelios?”

Zeb smiled.

“Hey, Princess,” he said. It was odd to see her traditional ornate dress dirty and ripped. “Wanna go home?”

“Definitely,” Kalia said, walking over to Zeb and Nearra. “Thank you, Captain, and…”

“Just call me Nearra,” Nearra said. “I’m his sister.”

“Thank you,” Kalia repeated. “Did Mom and Dad send you?”

It took Zeb a moment to register that she was talking about the King and Queen. 

“Yes,” he said. “Now we should hurry, before-”

He was cut off by a loud Imperial klaxon.

“Seems like they found your handiwork,” Nearra said, readying her rifle. “Princess, stay with me.”

Kalia nodded and came up close behind Nearra, who passed her a breathing mask from her bag.

“What’s your plan?” Zeb asked.

“You’re gonna use that bo-rifle of yours and cut us a path to the speeder garage,” Nearra said. “I’ll tell you which way to go.”

Zeb grinned.

“I like that plan.”


	7. Chapter Six

Zeb swung his bo-rifle again, pushing another stormtrooper out of the way as they slumped against the wall. Before any of the troopers at a greater distance would hit him, Nearra would take them out with her rifle. While Zeb didn’t risk looking back at them, he knew that Nearra was escorting the princess with her blaster raised towards any danger that they might face.

Though this was by far the most dangerous task that Zeb had ever taken on for the Honor Guard, through the tension and fear he felt very proud of what they were doing. He joined the Guard after Nearra had, dreaming that they’d one day fight together, and though he was happy for her his hopes were crushed when she left to pursue piloting. But here they were now, on a mission to rescue Lasan’s princess- the future of the planet. This was certainly something he’d tell Asha about when she was older, and maybe she’d tell his grandkids about the time her father saved a princess.

But this was not the time to think about that.

They reached an intersection in the hallway, and Zeb spared a glance back. The princess looked pretty frightened, but she stuck very close to Nearra.

“Which way?”

“Right. Almost there!”

Zeb nodded and went down the right hallway, flipping his bo-rifle into the rifle configuration as he walked shooting at the stormtroopers in his way. Any one that he missed quickly fell to a blast that came behind him from Nearra. As they approached the end of the hallway, Zeb could see a big door.

“That’s the hangar?” Zeb called back.

“Should be.”

Just as Zeb reached the door and opened it, revealing rows of speeders inside. Most were single seaters, though there were a few for two riders to sit- but two Lasat wouldn’t be very comfortable. Nearra and the princess came through the door, and Nearra slammed the butt of her rifle on the control panel as she passed it, closing the door shut just as more stormtroopers started to fire at them down the hall.

“Princess, you’ll ride with me,” Nearra said. She took the princess’s hand and helped her onto the back of one of the two-seater speeders. Zeb got on a single-seater next to them. Nearra climbed onto her speeder in front of the princess.

“Hold on,” Nearra said. Princess Kalia nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist. The princess had been pretty quiet, and Zeb didn’t blame her- even though Lasan royalty all go under a certain amount of training, he was sure this was all very new to her.

“You ready?” Zeb asked. The door behind them shook, presumably as the troopers tried to get through.

Nearra revved her speeder. “Of course. Follow me.”

She took off on the speeder, going out towards where they’d landed the ship, and Zeb followed close behind. Out of the compound, the thin top layer of Lirapal’s blue dirt flew up as the speeder passed over it, and Zeb was extra grateful for the breathing masks that they wore. The trip by speeder was much, much faster than when he and Nearra had walked it earlier, and they were soon close to the ship.

The problem was that some stormtroopers had evidently gotten through the door, and a few were pursuing them on speeders of their own, firing at them from behind. Both he and Nearra weaved to evade the fire, but they’d need something better once they tried to get aboard their ship.

“Nearra!” Zeb yelled over the roaring of the speeders. “You two get into the ship, I’ve got an idea!”

Nearra nodded, and as they approached the ship she slowed to a stop. She pulled her rifle off of her back and gripped it in one hand as she helped Princess Kalia climb off of the speeder and started helping her into the ship.

Zeb didn’t stop, though. Not yet, anyway.

Zeb turned, and did a loop around the ship before coming back around so he was racing right towards the Imperials on their speeder bikes. He counted four, and grinned under his breathing mask.

“Easy enough,” he said to himself.

He let go of one of the speeder’s handlebars, focusing on avoiding being hit by steering with one hand, while he reached back with his other hand to pull his bo-rifle off of his back. He flicked it into the staff configuration, and held it out to the side. He upped the speed, letting out a roar as he raced towards the troopers. He hit one square in the chest with his staff, knocking him clean off the bike while the bike veered off, banging into another one of the bikes and throwing off its rider.

Two down.

Zeb whipped his speeder around, almost throwing himself off, and slowed to a near stop. He switched his bo-rifle into the rifle configuration, and raised it with both hands, trying to keep the speeder going as straight as possible with his knees.

Two shots, and the other two riders of the speeders fell from their bikes while their bikes veered off across the flat lands of Lirapal. Zeb spun his bo-rifle and put it back onto his back, racing back to the ship, where Nearra and Princess Kalia were both already waiting for him in their seats. Nearra smiled at him as he climbed in, uncomfortable squeezing into the back seat behind the princess.

“Nice work,” she said. “I can see why they made you Captain.”

She took off once Zeb was situated, and they all took of their breathing masks once the ship was fully closed off, breathing heavily.

“Thank you both,” Princess Kalia said quietly.

“Just doing our duty, Princess,” Zeb said.

Zeb and Nearra both stood to attention while watching the sweet reunion between the Princess and the King and Queen. They all hugged tightly in the throne room, whispering things that even Zeb’s fine Lasat ears couldn’t clearly make out. After the reunions, the Queen stood to attention, and approached Zeb and Nearra. She looked to Zeb first.

“Thank you, Captain Orrelios,” she said. “I knew I could count on you. Lasan owes you a great debt, and we are proud to boast such an exemplary warrior.”

Zeb bowed his head.

“Thank you, your highness.”

“ I expect you to give me all of the details on what you learned… after you rest,” she said. “Report to the palace as soon as you can tomorrow morning.”

The Queen turned to Nearra.

“Nearra Orrelios,” she said. “The finest member of the Honor Guard to ever leave. Thank you for your work rescuing my daughter. You are a pride of Lasan, though it’s regretful I wasn’t able to make you Captain.”

Nearra bowed her head just as Zeb did.

“Thank you, your highness,” she said. “Though I believe my brother is doing a great job.”

The Queen smiled. “He certainly is. Thank you both for all you’ve done. Should the Orrelios family ever need anything, know that we would be happy to provide.”

Zeb was so, so grateful to just be home. He walked straight to the living room, plopping down right next to Ly on the couch, who rubbed his arm.

“There’s my knight in shining armor,” he said. “I was worried about you.”

Zeb smiled at him. “I told you I’d come home.”

Asha crawled from Ly’s lap onto Zeb’s giggling with her little green tooka doll tucked under her arm. Zeb looked down at her with a big smile, gently scooping her up into his arms, making her shriek with laughter.

“How’s my little girl been, huh? I missed you so much,” Zeb said with a laugh.

Asha reached out towards his face, letting the green tooka fall down onto his lap.

“Papa,” she giggled. Zeb let her come close as she dug her little hands into his fur and nuzzled her face against his. Zeb let out a happy sigh as he nuzzled her back, peppering her tiny face with little kisses.

It was good to be home. And though he didn’t know how Lasan would change going forward as it clashed with the Empire, he did know that he’d do everything he could to protect his family.

* * *

Captain Graves was furious. His pale skin had become an angry red, sweat dripped down his forehead towards his bushy, furrowed brows, and his clenched fists shook with anger.

Kidnapping that blasted princess was his last chance towards a deal with the Empire. It was supposed to be easy- his men took her, and when the Lasan royals sent out a call for help, a reward, anything, he would swoop in and offer to use his resources to find her in exchange for a deal. It was a brilliant plan, and it was ruined. Ruined by two,  _ TWO _ stupid Lasat who took out his useless, under-armed stormtroopers.

He had to prove himself. He had to show them that Captain Reginald Graves of the Galactic Empire was not to be messed with. And especially not by a primitive race of furry, purple creatures in the Outer Rim. 

He would not fail. If the Lasat weren’t going to give him their land, then he would just have to take it. It wasn’t his fault, he reasoned- they hadn’t cooperated when he gave them the chance. They’d forced his hand, and they were going to pay for thinking they could get the best of him.

“Kallus,” he snapped to the younger, inferior officer in the room. “Unload the shipment of T-7 ion disrupters, and prepare your men for an invasion of Lasan.”

“Sir,” Kallus said. “With all due respect, the T-7s are meant to be used on ships, and our reports show that Lasan doesn’t have a substantial fleet to worry about.”

Graves grinned. It was a cold, cruel grin that Kallus couldn’t see. It was the grin of a man who would be victorious at any price.

“I know.”


	8. Epilogue

Hera rubbed Zeb’s arm sympathetically.

“I- I didn’t realize, Zeb,” she said softly. “Thank you for telling me.”

Zeb just nodded. Though it did feel good to get everything off of his chest, it was exhausting relaying all of that to Hera. He wanted to be left alone now, and it was clear that she could see that.

“I’ll go,” Hera said. “You should get some sleep. I hope… I hope I helped.”

He nodded.

“You did.”

She smiled, and left the room. The bedroom door slid shut behind her and Zeb was left in darkness. He still couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning through the night. He eventually reached under his pillow, and pulled out one of the few mementos he had left of Lasan.

He pulled the little green tooka doll tight to his chest, and did his best to ignore the sting of tears in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed reading this story! I really loved writing it, it's always fun to think about Zeb and Lasan- and also really sad...


End file.
